Social influences on feeding site selection by Burmese fowl (Gallus gallus).

Abstract

Naive, adolescent Burmese red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus spadiceus) observed trained conspecifics feeding in a large enclosure. When tested 48 hr later, observers exhibited significantly enhanced preferences both for the type of foraging site and for the area in the enclosure where they had observed conspecifics foraging successfully. Such delayed influences of observation of foraging success on the orientation of feeding by an observer can be explained as an instance of stimulus enhancement (Spence, 1937) but not as an example of local enhancement (Thorpe, 1963)